Investing In Obedience

Exodus 20:5-6 (KJV)
“Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me
And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”
 
Deuteronomy 28:1-10 (KJV)
“And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.
3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
7 The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
8 The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
9 The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways.
10 And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee.”
 
 
 
1 Chronicles 2:9-17 (KJV)
“9 The sons also of Hezron, that were born unto him; Jerahmeel, and Ram, and Chelubai.
10 And Ram begat Amminadab; and Amminadab begat Nahshon, prince of the children of Judah;
11 And Nahshon begat Salma, and Salma begat Boaz,
12 And Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse,
13 And Jesse begat his firstborn Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shimma the third,
14 Nethaneel the fourth, Raddai the fifth,
15 Ozem the sixth, David the seventh:
16 Whose sisters were Zeruiah, and Abigail. And the sons of Zeruiah; Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three.
17 And Abigail bare Amasa: and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmeelite.”
 
 
 
   Woe is me, Woe is me! This is the cry that we hear coming from America today more than ever before. Despite the fact that we are a truly blessed nation, we are also a nation which has turned away from God. When a country or nation turns its back on God while receiving His blessings, there will be consequences for such actions. Our blessings correlate with our obedience. It was true for God’s people of the Old Testament, true for the New Testament and still true for today. God instructed Abraham to go and he went. He instructed him to have a child with his wife and he did (not without some hiccups I might add). Joseph was obedient to the laws and commands of God, which led to his rising within the ranks of Egypt to save all of Israel. Moses was told by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and he did. Jesus was asked to give himself upon the cross for all mankind and He did. These are just a few examples of countless stories of the relationship between obedience and blessings. However, what happens when there is disobedience? God’s Word tells us that He visits, “the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.” That’s a long time and type of visiting that I wouldn’t want to have.

   For the last several generations the world, especially the U.S. has been extremely disobedient. Not just sin, but complete rebellion against God has been going on in this country for some time now. This will not result into anything less than the hand of God being removed from this country. The only thing keeping his hand from completely removing yet is the remnant that is still left in this country praying, giving, working, and supporting the building up of God’s Kingdom. We are now seeing the blessings come upon other nations that God is preparing in these last days. It seems the Western world as a whole is losing out big on what God used to do for them on a regular basis. God’s been good to us so now it is time that we return the favor. No longer are only the televisions full of lust, sexual immorality, drug use, drinking, violence, and godlessness; but also our lives are filled with these things as well. Families that were formally known for their walk with God are now known for their lawlessness. What kind of seeds can we sow when America is home to the largest number of criminals locked behind bars in the world? You may say that we also send out the highest number of missionaries as well, but what happens when those two numbers grow larger apart each year until the missionaries nearly disappear. What happens to the blessings when the only seeds that are sown are those of disobedience?

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   1 Chronicles 2:9-17 shows us that Boaz (the kinsmen redeemer of Ruth) was a grandfather to King David. Israel in those days held sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons in high regard. This had to do with the seed passing through the covenant, contrary to what many believe that Judaism taught to disregard or disrespect women. Nothing against the women here, but the blessing was from male to male. Women had important roles in Israel as well and still do today, however this text is referring to passed down blessings and inheritance. The point is that David was blessed. Whether his father Jesse had built his own fortune or not isn’t relevant. However, even if he did not, Boaz’s wealth and assets should have been enough to go all the way down to David and be a blessing to him as well. Most of the sheep that David helped raise in the field as a shepherd was most likely the descendants of the same sheep that Boaz raised on his estate.

   When dealing with estates and investments in America, some families who have built a concentration of wealth often leave those assets in an estate that a dependent or inheritance receives. Some estates may be worth millions, a few hundred thousand, or maybe even just a few hundred bucks. Regardless of how much it is, the important thing is that after debts are cleared, that money should be reinvested. However, in America, it is nearly impossible to live off the income that 200,000 or less would create in an investment account for anyone who is too young to retire. It may last five years, maybe even ten, but eventually that person will run out of income when relying on an investment account balance that low. Change that balance to a million-dollar investment and things begin to change quite a bit. You can live a decent lifestyle every year without seeing the balance go down much at all due to interest. However, truth be told, most of us will never see that type of money. Our parents and grandparents may be fortunate enough to leave us a life insurance policy and maybe even a paid off home, but being a millionaire of inherited money is quite rare. This is why us adults go out and either further our education to prepare or go straight into a career out of school. We have to make a living for ourselves because we can’t live off inherited money. We have to create for our own well-being. However, most of Americans today are living off of the spiritual blessings of Grandparents and parents, or maybe even no blessings at all.

​   Some of us are still in the field of Boaz, gleaning off of grandma and grandpa’s blessings, but God wants us to live in abundance. God wants us to live in obedience, so we can thrive on our own blessings. Why not invest and let the interest do the rest? Stop gleaning and start leaning on God. We start this by repenting, by being obedient, trusting in the Lord, and doing His Kingdom work. Don’t depend on mom’s or grandma’s prayers to get you through your day. Doesn’t matter how much mom or grandma prayed, it won’t get you saved. We have to work out our own salvation “with fear and trembling” by turning from our sin and proclaiming Christ as Lord! You are the only one responsible for your salvation and your spiritual well-being. While blessings may come to those of us who have had forefathers who believed in the power of prayer and faith, many of those accounts are drying up. What happens when the balance goes to zero? What happens when the prayers stop flowing because you cease to have a relationship with God? The blessings stop, the saving grace stops, and the hand of God is taken off of us who refuse Him. Don’t leave yourself in a spiritually “broken” place today, turn to Christ and let him bless you with eternal life and continued blessings today!